A 1957 Creator/FedericoFellini film that deals with Cabiria, a hooker in the suburbs of Rome, and her weird experiences, including almost being drowned by a man, going to a progression, meeting a famous actor and wondering if she should change her ways. She tries again and again to change her life for the better, but never has any luck. The problem is that she is a fairly idealistic person against a very cynical world.

Fellini's wife, Giulietta Masina, stars as Cabiria. Adapted into a Creator/NeilSimon musical ''Theatre/SweetCharity'', which was [[RecursiveAdaptation itself adapted into a movie]] in 1969.

----!!The film provides examples of:

* AsideGlance: Cabiria looks at the camera once or twice as she smiles at the end.* BittersweetEnding: It should be a terribly depressing DownerEnding, really. Oscar robs Cabiria of absolutely everything; her 700,000-lira bankroll is gone, her house is already sold, she has nothing but the clothes she's wearing, and is left as a lonely penniless prostitute. But as she's walking down the road weeping, a bunch of partiers singing and playing instruments appear, and they cheer Cabiria up. She smiles as the film fades to black.* BookEnds: The film starts and finishes with a man robbing Cabiria’s purse alongside a river. Also, both men contemplate on throwing her to the river; the first one does it.* BreakTheCutie: Life seems determined to grind Cabiria down.* ContrivedCoincidence: Cabiria makes a fool of herself in a show courting with an imaginary man named Oscar. Then it turns out there was a man in the audience really named Oscar, who falls for her. What a coincidence! Although, of course, he probably was lying about his name.* TheDitz: Poor Cabiria isn't all that bright. She doesn't even figure out that something is up when Oscar asks "Can you swim?" while standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking a lake.* FourthDateMarriage: Oscar proposes to Cabiria at the tenth date. She and her friend Wanda [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] it. Deconstructed.* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Underneath the tough exterior, she is a sweet woman who really cares about what happens to other people, and only wants to be happy.* HopeSpot: Oscar romances Cabiria and asks her to marry him, and it seems like she might escape her sad existence. But there is an air of foreboding about the romance. Then Cabiria shows Oscar her bankroll and he starts to act somewhat distant, and the feeling of doom intensifies. By the time he tells her he knows a shortcut through the woods, the end is practically a ForegoneConclusion.* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Cabiria and Alberto Lazzari.* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Maybe love with her pimp--but no, he robs her and chucks her in the river. Maybe love with the movie director--but no, after his regular girl comes home Cabiria is forgotten. Maybe love with Oscar--but no, he's a con artist after her money.* MoodWhiplash: Throughout the movie. For instance, the movie starts with Cabiria and her lover goofing around near a river, looking like a heartwarming moment between two lovers, then he throws her to the river and steals her stuff.* MoreHypnotizableThanHeThinks: Cabiria laughs at the notion that the stage hypnotist could hypnotize her. He then rather cruelly hypnotizes Cabiria into believing she is meeting her dream lover.* OhCrap: A terribly sad one when Cabiria finally figures out that Oscar is a con artist who is going to rob her and might be about to kill her.* OneHeadTaller: Cabiria is very short, so it tends to happen; especially when she meets the actor Alberto Lazzari.* ThePollyanna: Her depressing existence as a middle-aged hooker won't get Cabiria down.* ShoutOut: Cabiria is named for the famous Italian silent film epic ''Film/{{Cabiria}}''.* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: And she can't find him. * {{Streetwalker}}: Cabiria's job. She seems strangely upbeat, despite her direly depressing life.* ThrowingOffTheDisability: Amleto’s uncle tries to do this at a shrine to the Virgin Mary, failing spectacularly.* TheXOfY: Especially when one notes that the Italian title uses "the" (''Le Notti di Cabiria'').